An amazing 20% of adult Americans feel that they are unable to afford acceptable health care according to the latest statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control. So, are you one of the 40 million people who cannot sleep peacefully because of the fear of being unable to pay for the cost of treatment in the event of illness or accident? Perhaps more importantly, do you have to be amongst the 40 million? The report of the CDC which was published in 2007 and explored health care in the United States looked in some detail at various aspects of health care and found amongst other things that: 1. One out of 10 people are currently unable to meet the cost of prescription medication. 2. One out of 10 people delay having medical treatment because of the price. 3. As many as almost 1 out of 3 young people aged between 18 and 24 have no normal source of medical treatment or health care insurance. 4. One out of 10 people aged between 45 and 64 have no normal source of medical treatment and nearly 50% of this group are suffering from hypertension, a major heart problem or diabetes. 5. One out of 5 individuals below 65 years of age are not insured for at least part of each year, with the majority of these having no insurance throughout the 12 month period. Many people are lucky enough to get insurance cover for themselves and their families through schemes operated by their employer, however rising costs are forcing an increasing number of employers to cut back on their group health insurance plans or to do away with them altogether. However, there are also millions of people who cannot get cover from their employer and who must make their own arrangements. It is for this second group that health care insurance is frequently said to be simply too expensive. So should you dismiss the idea of buying medical insurance out of hand merely because you feel that it costs too much? Health insurance plans come in all shapes and sizes and, while a traditional fee-for-service plan can be very expensive, there are numerous less expensive alternatives. Put simply, health insurance falls into two broad categories comprising disability plans and medical expense plans. The former is designed to cover your lost income if you are no longer able to work because of disability while the latter covers you for the cost of medical treatment as the result of accident or injury. Each of these types of health insurance can be bought as an individual policy or separately and individual plans can further be broken down to provide cover for particular areas like accident coverage, basic medical expenses, major medical expenses, hospital care and much more. Additionally, cover nowadays can be offered by not simply traditional insurers, but also by numerous group organizations, companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, HMOs and PPOs, each of which can offer a wide range of plans with payment options to match practically any wallet. If you have been frightened off by the belief that you cannot afford to purchase health insurance then think again. You may not be in a position to purchase a comprehensive policy covering all eventualities but the odds are that you will be able to locate a policy which will give you sufficient coverage to allow you some peace of mind.
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